Volume 1 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Leadership - Page 26

24 Research Question 3 Results of correlation analyses related to Research Question 3 indicated a statistically significant relationship appears to exist between student engagement and student behavior, measured either as behavior removals to Disciplinary Alter- native Education Program (DAEP) ( t (4) = 8.776, p = .001) or as total behavior incidents ( t( 4) = 8.431, p = .001). The p-value for the statistical test was reported as smaller than .05, thus the null hypothesis was rejected. Further, the sign of the Pearson correlation coefficient indicates that the nature of the relationship is negative, that is, as gains in engagement increase, gains in discipline events decrease. The coefficient of determination (r2) for this relationship is .956, indicating the variance in student engagement ex - plains 95.6% of the variance in discipline removals. Figure 2 shows the scatter plots for the correlation between engage - ment and discipline. Findings With the current study, the research found evidence to sug- gest a statistically significant relationship appears to exist between student engagement and student behavior, mea - sured either as behavior removals to DAEP ( t (4) = 8.776, p = 001) or as total behavior incidents ( t (4) = 8.431, p = 001). Fur- ther, a statistically significant relationship between student engagement and attendance was not detected for the all stu - dents ( t (4) = 0.812, p = .462), ED ( t (4) = 0.185, p = 862), or LEP (t(4) = 0.020, p = .986) student groups. Lastly, a statistically significant correlation ( r = .974, t (3) = 7.45, p = .003) suggests a relationship may exist between student engagement and math performance; however, the analysis was based upon an extremely small sample size, thus the results should be considered with caution. Implications Educators and students are faced with ever rising account - ability standards required by both the State of Texas and federal mandates. As a result, the unique needs of students at-risk compel educational entities to take decisive action to address discrepancies in performance and achievement. The findings of the current study lead to the following implica - tions with regard to practice: • Campuses and districts should employ the Gallup Student Poll as a resource for measuring, tracking, and re- sponding to student engagement. • Gallup Student Poll data should be analyzed annu- ally at the campus and district level to identify strengths and opportunities for improvement. • Gallup Student Poll data should be made public, and be provided to faculty, students, parents, and the com- munity. • School districts and campuses should provide ongo- ing teacher and faculty training in the areas of engagement attributes, engagement strategies, and increasing authentic student engagement. Student behavior and achievement are influenced by the impact of student engagement. Schools are not engaging Debbie Cano, Ed.D.